Gary Poyner

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Viewing 20 posts - 141 through 160 (of 290 total)
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  • in reply to: Whatever happened to Megrez? #582161
    Gary Poyner
    Participant

    Hi Alan,

    Well this is the first time I’ve seen a plot of delta UMa myself.  VSX says the variability is of unspecified type, but this link suggests a possible EB    http://liber.onu.edu.ua/pdf/astro/all/OAP_9/000_pdf/bryukh.pdf

    It’s quite interesting that the amplitude of the fades vary from one fade to the next.  Be nice to see a much longer plot.   My eyes are possibly seeing a secondary wave on that light curve.

    Gary

    in reply to: Whatever happened to Megrez? #582159
    Gary Poyner
    Participant

    This is from KWS (Kamogata/Kiso/Kyoto Wide-field Survey).  delta UMa also has a NSV designation (NSV 5513)

    Gary

    in reply to: Betelgeuse #582027
    Gary Poyner
    Participant

    This is a 10d mean visual and V-band light curve for Betelgeuse since the start of the year – taken from the AAVSO light curve generator.  The trend is still slightly downwards, but perhaps levelling out.

    Gary

    in reply to: Potentially bright supernova in NGC 4636 #582009
    Gary Poyner
    Participant

    Slow decline has been ongoing since Jan 28, following a short flat maximum.  Here is my plot up to and including Feb 02.073 UT

    Gary

    in reply to: BAA meeting livestream #581963
    Gary Poyner
    Participant

    Enjoyed the live streaming yesterday.  Many thanks for making this available.   One comment though – the volume was very low.

    Gary

    in reply to: Comet approaching the Double Cluster #581944
    Gary Poyner
    Participant

    Been having a ‘play’ with SLOOH over the past couple of weeks, and managed this image of C/2017 T2 on Jan 4.812 UT with ‘Canary 1’ – (0.5-m).   Not keen on displaying images I haven’t taken (I refuse to spend time processing images), but I quite liked this one.

    Gary

    Gary

    in reply to: Comet approaching the Double Cluster #581942
    Gary Poyner
    Participant

    Have to say I was slightly underwhelmed at T2 on the evening of Jan 20.  Although overhead, the background sky is always too bright to appreciate Comets from Birmingham, even fairly bright ones like this.  In the 51cm with a 10mm Ethos I could just discern the tail.  Ten minutes later, and a degree or so away across the open cluster, I was seeing close to mag 16 in a variable star field with the same eyepiece.  My first Comet was Bennett in 1970, and I have loved observing them ever since.  However light pollution has virtually ended this aspect of visual observing enjoyment for me.

    Gary

    in reply to: Potentially bright supernova in NGC 4636 #581935
    Gary Poyner
    Participant

    The AAVSO have now added this supernova to VSX, so you can now upload your observations to the AID.  There is also a sequence available if you plot a chart using VSP  http://www.aavso.org/vsp

    May have reached maximum – 12.504CV on Jan 21.079 UT.

    Gary

    in reply to: Potentially bright supernova in NGC 4636 #581921
    Gary Poyner
    Participant

    Observations of this SN can now be entered into the BAAVSS database as SN 2020ue or SN2020ue.  Thanks Andy!

    AAVSO still haven’t updated VSX though, so at this time you still can’t get the data into their database.

    Brightened further to 12.632CV on Jan 19.222UT

    Gary

    in reply to: Potentially bright supernova in NGC 4636 #581918
    Gary Poyner
    Participant

    I measured it at 12.759CV on Jan 18.138.

    Neither the BAAVSS or AAVSO databases will accept the designation SN 2020ue yet, but hopefully this will be rectified before too long following a couple of e-mails sent today.

    Gary 

    in reply to: chi Cygni #581895
    Gary Poyner
    Participant

    Your getting good at this Andrew.  5.8-5.9 is on the button.

    I’m thinking of sending you a couple of hundred VS charts to get you started properly.  Is this OK?  😉

    Clear skies,

    Gary

    in reply to: chi Cygni #581885
    Gary Poyner
    Participant

    Excellent Miguel.  I’ll check that out!   Hope you keep with it throughout maximum.

    Gary

    in reply to: chi Cygni #581843
    Gary Poyner
    Participant

    Hi Andrew,

    I was hoping you were keeping the odd VS observation going.  Glad to hear that you are.

    Good luck with chi Cyg!

    Gary

    in reply to: Orion’s Arrow #581840
    Gary Poyner
    Participant

    eta Ori is also a pulsating non supergiant star of the BCEP sub group.  Amplitude is quite small though; 0.01 to 0.3, so at it’s extreme upper limit, I guess it could be noticed visually .

    Gary

    in reply to: Negative observations #581808
    Gary Poyner
    Participant

    It makes sense to me, and I understand your frustration at recording a <169 star when your nearly at 20, but the sequences for many stars are embedded into the DB, so if you report a negative value of <196 when the listed sequence ends at 169, then that observation might be rejected.  Not all stars sequences are entered into the DB, and I’m not sure about SV Ari, but it might be.  If it isn’t, and you enter <196 with a sequence code for a sequence which ends at 169, then that observation will be accepted but will cause some confusion when the data is looked at.

    You might report such an observation with a different sequence number (one which you have designed yourself).  This would then be flagged as an unknown sequence, but it would make it into the DB.  Then in 20 years time or so when SV Ari wakes up again, you could monitor the outburst using the recognised sequence of the day – by which time the limit might be in the 20’s.

    The less confusion in the DB, the better for all concerned.

    Happy Christmas…

    Gary

    in reply to: Negative observations #581792
    Gary Poyner
    Participant

    You should report the faintest star visible (recorded) which is measured on the sequence you are using.  Adding fainter stars of your own means you are altering the official sequence, and the data might not be accepted into the VSSDB (depends on the object – I think).

    If you wish to help extend the sequence to SV Ari beyond 169, then you should have a chat with Jeremy.

    Gary

    in reply to: Talk about Irish Astronomer: John Birmingham (1816–1884) #581378
    Gary Poyner
    Participant

    Thanks for confirming that Ronan. I’ll have to keep the crater image in the talk then!

    Gary

    in reply to: Talk about Irish Astronomer: John Birmingham (1816–1884) #581370
    Gary Poyner
    Participant

    Is there a photograph of Birmingham anywhere?  I mention him in my talk on historical novae, and always show his lunar crater as I can’t locate – anywhere – an image of the man himself.

    Thanks,

    Gary

    in reply to: Space race quiz #581214
    Gary Poyner
    Participant

    Thanks James.  Might have some fun with this.

    Gary

    in reply to: Campaign to observe HR Lyrae #581189
    Gary Poyner
    Participant

    I’d urge visual observers to add this object to their programme during this active, high brightness state if you can get through mag 15.  I’ve been monitoring HR Lyr since the early 1990’s, and on June 29 this year I recorded it at 15.1 visual – the brightest I’ve ever seen it.  Now is an excellent opportunity to actually see this historical Nova for yourself.

    Gary

Viewing 20 posts - 141 through 160 (of 290 total)